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Klamath
Tribes Work with Neighbors to Solve Water Crisis
by
Klamath Tribes negotiating team
“Putting
the Basin Back Together” is Tribes’ goal; Agreement with PacifiCorp
is final hurdle.
Chiloquin,
“The Klamath Tribes have devoted years of effort to this agreement and
have worked hard to make it the best it can be for our members while
respecting the legitimate needs of others in the Basin,” said Tribal
Chairman Joe Kirk. “We have been working hard to put the
The Tribes’ own negotiating team has recommended approval of the
agreement to the Tribal Government. The Tribal Council recently endorsed
the agreement conditionally, depending on an appropriate settlement with
PacifiCorp regarding removal of dams from the
“As always, final decisions of this magnitude are reserved for our
General Council,” Kirk said. The General Council is the main
decision-making body for the Tribes, composed of all tribal members over
18 years of age. The Tribes are now scheduling meetings for the General
Council’s review of the agreement.
Jeff Mitchell, a Tribal Councilman active on the Klamath Tribes’
negotiating team, encouraged acceptance of the agreement. “This is a
rare opportunity to restore fish that were guaranteed to us in the
Treaty of 1864 but have been lost since PacifiCorp’s dams went in
early last century,” he said. “Removing the dams and stabilizing the
water management situation in the Basin is essential for all
stakeholders and the environment.”
The agreement would secure more water for fish and improve fish habitat.
It would also reduce overall agricultural diversions from Basin streams
and lakes, but provide much more reliable water supplies for Basin
agriculture. It would also provide for Tribal development of
forestry-based economic enterprises on 90,000 acres of private
forestland in northern
Effectively putting the Basin back together again depends on PacifiCorp
becoming a partner in the restoration. PacifiCorp is the Portland-based
utility that owns the Klamath dams. It is a subsidiary of Mid-American
Energy Holdings Company which in turn is owned by Warren Buffett’s
Berkshire Hathaway. The Tribes have been urging PacifiCorp to give up
the dams, which provide very little energy and no water supply for
agriculture, and have kept salmon from returning to the Tribes’
homeland in the
The case for dam removal was strengthened recently by economic reports
from state and federal energy agencies that concluded dam removal is
cheaper for PacifiCorp’s customers than financing the upgrades needed
to comply with federal mandates for fish ladders.
“The dams are costing ratepayers money and are destroying extremely
valuable salmon runs,” Mitchell said. “PacifiCorp’s cooperation
makes sense for everyone involved. We call on the company to help us
solve one of the West’s most complex and bitter water wars.”
For more information contact the Klamath Tribes’ negotiating team
through Jeff Mitchell at (541) 891-5971 or Bud Ullman at (541) 783-3081,
or visit http://www.klamathtribes.org.
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those
who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go
to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Source:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/01/15/18472678.php